Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda (review)

This intriguing collection can best be described as a collage of disparate chapters, of which four are devoted to Rwanda and five to Cambodia. The aim, we are told, is twofold: "to deal with aspects of genocide in Rwanda and Cambodia that have been largely unexplored to date" and "to demonstrate the important analytic possibilities of comparative study of genocide" (v). While the first of these goals is met admirably, the other raises some doubts in this reviewer's mind.

The sections dealing with Rwanda shed new light on some little known dimensions of the genocide. Philip Verwimp explores the relevance of Habyarimana's "peasant ideology" to an understanding of the dynamics of the carnage; Charles Mironko ably dissects the significance of the traditional institution of igitero (group attack) as the prime vehicle behind the mass killings of Tutsi civilians; Richard Orth, introduced to the reader as "military attaché to the Rwandan government" (x), makes good use (some would say misuse) of his privileged entrée into the inner circles of the FPR to describe the Hutu extremist genocidal insurgency of 1995 and 1996; Susan Cook's excellent contribution shows how different perceptions of genocide site preservation have shaped governmental and nongovernmental agendas, although she makes surprisingly short shrift of the issue of ethnicity as a crucial aspect of the memorialization process.

The chapters on Cambodia cover an equally diverse range of issues. Dmitry Masyakov reviews in considerable detail the ups and downs in the spectrum of political and diplomatic ties between the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese Communists through the prism of Soviet archives (yet, oddly enough, nothing is said of the historic roots of Vietnamese-Cambodian enmity). With Puangthong Rungswasdisab's chapter the focus shifts to the evolving relations between Thailand and the Khmer Rouge, from their positions as sworn enemies to those of trading partners; Kaylanee Mam's arresting discussion of the "endurance of the Cambodian family under the Khmer Rouge," based on first-hand interviews, is a moving account of the agonies suffered by Cambodian wives and mothers as they went through the excruciating process of complying with, or resisting the rules of, the Angkar while clinging to family values. Kelvin Rowley offers an outstanding analysis of the political trajectory of what remained of the Pol Pot regime after its overthrow in 1979, while Rachel Hughes, following in the footsteps of Susan Cook, explores the political and symbolic significance of memorial sites dedicated to the memory of Pol Pot's victims.

Students of genocide will find a rich source of inspiration in this volume, but most will probably lament the absence of a serious effort at comparative analysis on the part of the editor. This is all the more surprising when one considers that a number of themes explored in individual chapters are excellent candidates for a sustained comparative discussion, ranging from peasant ideology and traditional social institutions to the impact of neighboring states on domestic violence and the implications of collective memories in efforts at national reconciliation. Equally surprising, I might add, is the absence of Ben Kiernan—a recognized expert on Cambodia and, in his capacity as director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale, the prime mover behind this project—among the list of contributors. Be that as it may, it is not the least of the merits of this anthology that it deepens our understanding of the horrors of the two largest genocides of the second half of the last century.